Articles about Open Source

It is a little while since Proton Technologies announced that ProtonVPN was being open sourced to help build trust in the service. Now the company has done the same for the Android version of ProtonMail, and this means that all ProtonMail and ProtonVPN apps are now open source

Just as with ProtonVPN, the open sourcing of ProtonMail opens it up not only to the scrutiny of anyone who cares to trawl through the source code, but it has also been subjected to a third-party security audit.

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There are many desktop Linux distributions these days, but only a handful are significant enough to cause widespread excitement. None have the mainstream attention that Ubuntu does, however -- it is undoubtedly the most popular desktop Linux-based operating system on the planet. Hell, what other distro got mentioned on the wildly popular TV show The Big Bang Theory?

But why is Ubuntu so popular? Despite what some critics may say, Ubuntu's popularity and admiration are absolutely warranted -- there's a reason the distro has been trusted by so many people over the years. Not only is the operating system beautiful, easy to use, and very stable, but there are countless packages and repos available for it, making it a wise choice for both beginners and experts alike. Not to mention, it has a very large online community, making it is easy to find help if needed. Plus, these days, it uses the overall best desktop environment -- GNOME.

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Last month, we told you that System76 was bringing back the iconic Lemur Pro laptop. The company's Lemur laptops are legendary for being sensible, durable, and well balanced. In other words, the computer is a consistent workhorse that is ideal for everyday use and beyond. You can have either Ubuntu or System76's own Ubuntu-based Pop!_OS pre-installed. Best of all, it is reasonably priced too, allowing anyone to own one of the company's computers. Look, If you love Linux, it makes sense to support the community by purchasing a System76 machine.

Sadly, System76 only told us that the Lemur Pro laptop would be available in April. We had no idea of a specific date, leaving many would-be buyers chomping at the bit for more concrete availability information. I am happy to say, we now know exactly when you can but it -- today, as in right now! Yes, you may immediately trade your money for the System76 Lemur Pro.

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Last October, IBM began awarding quarterly grants to encourage diversity and inclusion among the open source community.

The company has today announced the winner of its second grant as Outreachy, an organization that provides internships in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) for people from under served communities.

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There are many Linux distributions nowadays. Some are unique, but many are largely repetitive and probably don't need to exist. One Linux-based operating system that manages to stand out is Bodhi, thanks to its use of the Moksha desktop environment.

If you aren't familiar with Bodhi, please know it is a lightweight operating system that is based on the great Ubuntu. Today, Bodhi 5.1.0 becomes available. This new version is significant, as it is the first release since development leadership was changed last year.

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If you've been searching for Kodi using Google, you will have noticed that the media playing software has vanished from search results.

The banishment comes after a DMCA takedown request from the Turkish pay-TV service Digiturk. Owned by the beIN Media Group, the DMCA takedown request related not only to the content of a pirated stream, but to the use of a copyrighted logo on suc ha sstream.

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Microsoft has announced plans to acquire npm Inc, the company behind popular JavaScript package manager npm.

No details of the amount of money involved have been revealed, nor the timing of the acquisition, but Microsoft says that it plans to integrate npm into GitHub. Both companies feels that acquisition will help the open source community in general, but the JavaScript community in particular.

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Open source components are the building bricks of many of today's software applications, but this puts them under increased scrutiny with regard to security.

Open source management specialist WhiteSource has released a new report which shows that disclosed open source software vulnerabilities in 2019 skyrocketed to over 6000, up almost 50 percent.

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One of the best things about Linux is having access to all the wonderful desktop environments (DEs). With Linux, you can often customize things to your heart's content, switching environments entirely if you prefer. Conversely, with Windows 10, for example, there is essentially just one user interface. Don't like it? Sucks to be you! If you run Windows, it is Microsoft's way or the highway. True, there is value in having all users sharing one experience, but ultimately, choice will always reign supreme.

Despite there being many great desktop environments available on Linux, only one can be the best. Consistently, for many years now, GNOME has been the greatest DE, and that is still true now. What makes it so wonderful? Well, GNOME 3.x is ideal for  productivity, allowing the user to focus on the task at hand. Not to mention, it is beautiful and simple -- it is a no-nonsense computing experience. There's a reason both Ubuntu and Fedora use GNOME as their default environment.

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Project OWL, the winner of 2018's Call for Code, is a cloud-based analytics tool that assists in organization, whereabouts, and logistics for disaster response.

Today The Linux Foundation is announcing that it's making Project OWL's IoT device firmware open source to help developers around the world build mesh network nodes for global emergency communications networks.

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iXsystems has announced that its two open source operating systems for network attached storage are unifying. Moving forward, FreeNAS and TrueNAS will merge into TrueNAS Open Storage.

Despite the unification, there will still be two versions of the operating system available: TrueNAS CORE and TrueNAS Enterprise. Both are billed as enterprise-quality software, but TrueNAS Enterprise requires a license and offers an extended set of features, while TrueNAS CORE is free.

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Google competitor DuckDuckGo is already well-known as a search engine that goes further than others to protect user privacy. Now the company has open sourced Tracker Radar, its data set that details thousands of domains that track you as you use the internet.

DuckDuckGo Tracker Radar is something that the company already uses itself to power the tracker protection in the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser mobile apps and DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials desktop browser extensions. Now it is being made publicly available, and developers are invited to contribute to the ever-growing list of trackers to further protect user privacy.

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Now in its third year, the Call for Code Global Challenge encourages and fosters the creation of practical applications built on open source software. The goal is to employ technology in new ways that can make an immediate and lasting humanitarian impact in communities around the world.

For the 2020 challenge IBM is joining forces with key UN agencies and world leaders to help tackle climate change.

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If you are a Linux user, you are undoubtedly in heaven right now. Recently, there have been updates to some truly excellent distributions, such as MX Linux 19.1, Netrunner 20.01, elementary OS 5.1.2, and OpenMandriva Lx 4.1. While I suppose having to choose from so many distros can be seen as a negative for some, I say it's a damn good problem to have!

Guess what? Things are getting a bit more crowded! Today, one of the most popular Linux distributions gets a new version. Yes, Manjaro Linux 19.0 is finally here! Named "Kyria," it can be had with your choice of three desktop environments -- Xfce 4.14, KDE Plasma 5.17, and GNOME 3.34. While Xfce is highlighted by the developers, the others two DEs are arguably superior.

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One of my favorite Linux distributions is Netrunner. If you aren't familiar, it is a Debian-based operating system that utilizes the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It is very polished and chock-full of excellent pre-installed applications such as LibreOffice, GIMP, Firefox, and Skype. All of this makes Netrunner a great choice for those switching from Windows, but also, it is a wonderful option for Linux experts too. Seriously, folks, you will be blown away by how exceptional it is -- one of the best.

Today, Netrunner 20.01 becomes available, and it is a very important milestone. You see, not only does it represent 10 years of development, but also, it is the twentieth major version of the operating system. And so, the Debian Buster (stable) 10.3-based distro is being dubbed "Twenty." Netrunner 20.01 is using KDE Plasma 5.14.5 and comes with a very special birthday wallpaper!

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